Amaarae

Ama Serwah Genfi (born July 4, 1994), known professionally as Amaarae, is a Ghanaian-American singer, songwriter, producer, and engineer known for her work around representation and gender in music.[1][2][3] After collaborating with artists like AYLØ, Kay-Ara, Yaw P and putting out a few non-album singles, she released her debut 6 track EP, Passionfruit Summers[4][5][6] in 2017. The album features the standout song, "Fluid", which was complemented by a music video that featured Ghanaian men in drag.[7] Amaarae has since added Stonebwoy, Kojey Radical, M3NSA, Santi, Odunsi, B4bonah and very recently, in 2019, the Nigerian Singer-songwriter Wande Coal[8] to the list of artists she has worked with.[5]

"Androgyny has become a big thing in music videos now, and that's helping to broaden people's perspectives. You see more people start to become flexible in the way that they present themselves."

— Amaarae on Androgyny, Sowetan Live

Amaarae
Background information
Birth nameAma Serwah Genfi
Born (1994-07-04) July 4, 1994
New York, United States
OriginAccra, Ghana
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2010–present
Musical career
Genres
InstrumentsVocals
Labels
  • Golden Child LLC (current)
Associated acts
Websiteamaaraemusic.com

Early life

Ama Serwah Genfi was born on July 4, 1994, in New York and raised between Atlanta and Accra[5] to Ghanaian parents Ama Bawuah and Kwadwo Boateng Genfi. She is the elder of two children. Amaarae began to experiment with music at the age of 13, when she wrote her first song.[9] In an interview with Unorthodox Reviews, she said "I wrote my first song when I was about 13 and it was a reimagining of R.Kelly and Usher’s "Same Girl".[10] During high school she started making mixtapes and by 17, she took up an internship at a music studio. At university, she undertook voice training and honed her song writing skills while studying English literature and in June 2017 she returned to Ghana.[5]

Career

Recognized both locally and internationally, she was named one of Apple Music Africa's Favourite New Artist in April 2018[5][11][12][13] and later that year became an Apple Music Beats 1 featured artist[14] for her debut project Passionfruit Summers which she released through her independent record label, Golden Child LLC on November 30, 2017.[6] She performed with Teni, Boj of DRB LasGidi and Odunsi at ART X Lagos, an art fair in Lagos, Nigeria on November 3, 2018.[15]

Amaarae has also been acknowledged for her style and fashion sense.[16][17][18] In 2018, she was featured in Vogue Magazine online in an article on 4 women across the globe with buzz haircuts[19][20] and snagged a mention as one of Vogue online's Top 100 Style Influencers of 2018, in addition to being nominated as Artist of the Year at the Glitz Style Awards in Ghana.[21][22][23] She has also patronized Ghanaian fashion brand Free The Youth.[2]

On March 23, 2019, Amaarae became one of the acts chosen to perform at the first-ever Boiler Room event to happen in Accra, Ghana alongside La Meme Gang (A Collective comprising Nxwrth, RJZ, KwakuBS, Darkovibes, Kiddblack and $pacely) and Award Winning Rapper Kwesi Arthur.[24][25][26][27]

In October 2019, Amaarae penned and unprecedented op-ed for OkayAfrica consisting of short stories that contextualised her experience as a female musician in male-dominated landscape, entitled 3 Moments That Defined My Journey As a Young Woman In Search of Herself & Her Purpose. These included "Thank God Herself", "Why Do You Hate Me?", and "A Conversation with Alexis" that would precede the latest of her non-album singles, "Like It".[28][29]

On November 12, 2020, Amaarae released her debut studio album, The Angel You Don't Know. Owen Myers of Pitchfork stated, "The Angel You Don't Know crackles with innovation, a pacesetter at a time when industry bigwigs are waking up to the long-held truth that Africa is setting the global tempo for pop music."[30]

Discography

Studio albums
List of studio albums, with selected details
Title Details
The Angel You Don't Know
  • Released: 2020
  • Label: Golden Child Entertainment

EP
List of EPs, with selected details
Title Details
Passionfruit Summers[31]
  • Released: November 30, 2017
  • Label: Golden Child
  • Formats: Digital download

Singles
List of singles
Title Year Album
"Spend Some Time"
(featuring Wande Coal)[32]		 2019 Non-album single
"Like It"[29]
YearTitleAlbum
2017Whoa! (AYLØ featuring Amaarae)Insert Project Name
On Me (Dex Kwasi featuring Amaarae)Non-album single
2018Pepper Dem (Stonebwoy featuring Amaarae)Epistles Of Mama
Rapid Fire (Santi featuring Amaarae)Mandy & The Jungle
Hectic (Odunsi featuring Amaarae)rare.
SDI (M3NSA featuring Amaarae)Non-album single
2019Platinum Sex (Mina featuring Amaarae)Flight Paths
Like Water (Gafacci featuring Amaarae)Tash BNM
Settle Down (Santi featuring Amaarae)Mandy & The Jungle
Shame (B4bonah featuring Amaarae)B4Beginning
Sugar (Kojey Radical featuring Amaarae)Cashmere Tears
Mewu (Ground Up Chale featuring Twitch & Amaarae)We Outside (Y3 Wo Abonten) Vol. 1
Too Bad (featuring Show Dev Camp and TEMS)The Palmwine Express
2020 Still Dey Inside (OIEE & M3NSA featuring Amaarae)
Follow My Lead (FRIDAY NIGHT CREW featuring Tessellated and Amaarae)
Count On Me (Blessed featuring Amaarae)Music Is The Medicine

References
  1. "Gay sex is banned - so Ghanaians dance against homophobia". SowetanLIVE. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  2. "Ghana is now". The FADER. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  3. "The interview we forgot to document - CRTL+ ALT+DEL Amaarae". Harmattan Rain. January 3, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  4. "Passionfruit Summers". Genius. Retrieved November 30, 2017.
  5. "Amaarae". nataal.com. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  6. "Amaarae's New Music Video for 'Fluid' Is a Beautiful Masterpiece". OkayAfrica. June 12, 2018. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  7. "I just want people to have sex with my music". Globe Trotter Mag. Retrieved July 9, 2019.
  8. ""Spend Some Time" Amaarae ft. Wande Coal". Notion. May 22, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  9. "Discover: Amaarae, The Sex-Positive Ghanaian Neo-Soul Star". Konbini. Retrieved October 4, 2018.
  10. "10 Questions: Amaarae". Unorthodox Reviews. Retrieved February 5, 2018.
  11. "Amaa Rae releases new song titled 'Fluid'". Ghana Web. Retrieved June 10, 2018.
  12. "Amaarae: a refreshing Afro Fusion voice". B&FT Online. Retrieved June 16, 2018.
  13. "AMAARAE". BlankPaperz. Retrieved May 11, 2019.
  14. "APPLE MUSIC'S "BEATS 1" STREAMS HOUR-LONG SPECIAL ON AFRICAN MUSIC". Native Mag. Retrieved December 14, 2018.
  15. "ODUNSI, TENI THE ENTERTAINER, AMAA RAE FOR ART X LIVE! 2018". Native mag. Retrieved October 26, 2018.
  16. "The variant colours of Amaarae". Pan African Music. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  17. "Amaarae is in Wonderland in Her Video For 'Like It'". Unorthodox Reviews. Retrieved October 22, 2019.
  18. "#PodcastsOnLive: Amaarae premieres Wande Coal-featured song on Live 91.9 FM". Live FM. Retrieved May 21, 2019.
  19. "4 Women Around the Globe Prove Why the Buzz Cut Is Bold and Beautiful". VOGUE. Retrieved September 5, 2018.
  20. "#Emergers2019: The Bio of the Warrior Princess, Amaarae". Kuulpeeps. Retrieved October 23, 2019.
  21. "FULL LIST OF WINNERS: 2018 Glitz Style Awards [+ event images]". EnewsGh. Retrieved September 3, 2018.
  22. "2018 Glitz Style Awards: Becca Beats KiDi & Amaarae To Emerge Artiste Of The Year". GH Gossip. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  23. "Glitz Awards 2018: Becca flaunts wedding ring in Shatta Michy's face". GH Page. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  24. "TRUE MUSIC AFRICA: GHANA". Boiler Room. Retrieved March 3, 2019.
  25. "DJ Mic SMith, Vision DJ, Kwesi Arthur, Amaarae to headline Boiler Room and Ballantine's TRUE MUSIC AFRICA". YFM Ghana. Retrieved February 20, 2019.
  26. "Boiler Room is coming to Ghana". Music in Africa. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  27. "DIASPORA DISTINS: ANTONIA ODUNLAMI WITH AMAARAE". Worldwide FM. Retrieved June 28, 2019.
  28. "3 Moments That Defined My Journey As a Young Woman In Search of Herself & Her Purpose". OkayAfrica. October 2, 2019. Retrieved June 17, 2020.
  29. "Amaarae explores the unknown in her 'Like It' video". The Fader. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
  30. "Amaarae: The Angel You Don't Know". Pitchfork. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  31. "Essentials: Amaarae's Debut, 'Passionfruit Summer', Is a Plush Dreamy-Eyed Project". Native Mag. Retrieved December 4, 2017.
  32. "You Should Really Listen to Amaarae's New Single 'Spend Some Time' Featuring Wande Coal". OkayAfrica. Retrieved May 22, 2019.
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